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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. last — finally
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. season — of the year
  6. rule — government
  7. snap — to click
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. stock — goods
  11. last — final
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. season — in sport
  14. rash — a series
  15. squash — the sport
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. squash — to crush
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. stock — shares
  20. rule — a law
  21. rash — hasty
  22. last — to go on
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. rash — on the skin

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com